Early Meeting With Festus
by di.immcrtales
Summary: This is a story on how Leo meets Festus before he met him in the Heroes Of Olympus.
1. Fight at school

This is a story on Leo and Festus. I uploaded one part of it... Soo see if you like it and please leave your comments... Happy reading!

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"Hey, you! Come here!" snarled a boy who had such a frightening look on his face that even a tenth grade student would have been scared. "Your name?"

Leo stood petrified in front of the boy Robert. He couldn't understand what mistake he had made. Robert roared again, "WHAT'S YOUR NAME?" Leo even more frightened stammered, "Leo, Leo Valdez". "Well little Leo, don't you know that only boys of my group are supposed to hand around this lawn? And as far as I know, neither are you one of my group nor are you invited. So why are you HERE?"

All the fright had left Leo and anger had taken its place. Anger roared in his ears as he gritted his teeth and clenched his fist. He punched Robert in the stomach as hard as he could.

"Ow!" yelled Robert, as he clutched his stomach. "Get him." He instructed his gang. Nine boys swarmed out from behind him and lifted Leo off the ground, while he was still furiously kicking and screaming. Robert recovered and came into the circle of boys that surrounded Leo. He walked up to Leo and grinned," So, I see you have some pluck, kid. But unfortunately, I have some too…. And yours can't match mine. Wanna see it?" His grin had now turned in a nasty smirk. He waved to his followers motioning to them to let Leo on his feet. Leo wasn't afraid. If these guys wanted to fight, he was ready for one. "Bring it on!"said Leo.

As Robert cornered him, he clenched his fists ready for the blow. Robert aimed for his stomach but Leo dodged and reciprocated by giving him a hard punch on his face. "AAARGGHHH!" yelled Robert and fell to the ground, clutching his face as if it was burning. It hadn't been a hard blow as for a scrawny, almost fourteen-year old boy but still Robert roared as f he were in great pain. His followers gathered around Robert and one of them pulled the hand that covered the part of the cheek that Leo had hit.

A gasp echoed through everyone as they saw a big burn mark across Robert's face. Leo pushed his way through the crowd and saw the sight that awaited him. Leo couldn't believe his eyes. It couldn't be true. He couldn't have given Robert that nasty burn mark. Robert's followers only glared at Leo while they helped Robert to his feet and guided him to the nurse. One said," We'll get you soon Valdez. Just you wait."


	2. Running away

Continued from Chapter one: Fight at school. Happy reading!

Leo felt uncomfortable. He wanted to scream out to the world that he hadn't done that but somehow not even a sound came out of his mouth. He walked in silence towards his dormitory and attracted a few glares and even a few screams going "Aaaa! Beware! There goes the fire boy! He'll kill us all one day!"

He reached his dorm, climbed up in bed and stayed in his covers the rest of the day. All he thought was why all this was happening to him. A very unhappy Leo went through all of the weird happenings of the past days. There were three major problems. One was the incident that had happened today. Fire, where was this fire coming from, he thought. And if he was the reason of the fire… How in the world could he produce FIRE?

The second thing that bothered him was that he simply couldn't pay attention to his studies however much he tried. He had tried numerous times and had been scolded by teachers. That and another reason was that his fingers wouldn't rest one minute without making something out of things like a broken spring, rubber bands, paper, etc.

He just couldn't understand all these happenings. It was making him mad. He was beginning to think that either he or this place was haunted. He was afraid to hurt others, especially the ones he loved. Like his mother. Just the thought of her made Leo cry. She had been such a sweet mother and she had died just because of Leo.

A tear made its way down Leo's cheek before getting soaked up by his was the last straw. He couldn't bear to hurt anyone else so dear to him

That was the moment he decided; he had to run away.


	3. Memories

**The next part of the story... Memories...**

He packed his belongings in the small bag he had and waited for night to settle in. At about midnight, he got up and picked up his little bag staring back at his dorm before rushing out in the darkness.

Leo climbed up the wall of the foster home as he knew that at this time of the night watchmen would be guarding the gate. He jumped off the wall and started running at full speed, eager to run away from that terrible foster home.

As he ran along the footpath, observing the surroundings covered by the stores, he realized that he had reached the city. He neared the forest which had to passed before reaching his own home, a few miles away from it.

When he couldn't run anymore, he sat down on the pavement and started to observe his surroundings. No one. Not a soul was in sight. He was all alone as he usually was and he was beginning to get used to it. He stared down at a puddle at his feet, watching his face.

Only the memories of his mother, Esperanza Valdez came to his mind. First came the good memories. The day, he and his mother were reading the newspaper for the first time and looking at the pictures. He smiled at the fond memory. He thought of the day his mother was at the garage teaching him little tricks with the engine. But good memories bring with them bad memories too.

Suddenly, his mind was seized by horror and fright when he recalled the day his mother had died. While they were leaving the garage, his mother had left him to bring a key. And he remembered some weird figure a woman, who rose from the mud (yuck!) saying something terrifying to him. Something about killing him and his mother. He remembered flames hurled towards her but suddenly he saw flames soaring over the garage trapping his mother. Esperanza didn't survive but Leo did, bearing all the fault of his mother's death on his shoulders. He blamed himself for the accident. He couldn't forgive himself. Tears streaked down his face and splashed into the puddle he was staring at.

Leo, wiping them away, stood up, staring at the far away figure of the forest looming over at the distance. Thinking about the miles of distance he still had to cover, he started walking in the hope that his journey would be finished by dawn.


	4. Dragon Fire

**Continued story... Entry of a dragon... enjoy ... Happy reading!**

It was dark, although the stars were out and Leo was shivering in cold. He decided to walk a little faster so as to keep warm. His tired feet tagged along in the slimy, wet and sometimes crunchy mud.

He heard a slight rustle behind him and turned to look. But there was not a soul in sight. He started walking again, thinking it must be his fear at work. Few minutes later, he heard the sound of heavy footsteps on the grass. He turned around just in time to see an enormous foot of a creature that wasn't supposed to exist: a dragon.

He gasped, and staring up at the big face of the dragon, his courage failed him. The dragon also seemed to notice him and looked straight down. It seemed to consider what to do. Then, it gave a mighty roar which shook the ground.

Leo, scared stiff, couldn't move. He stared up at the dragon in absolute fear. The dragon bent down and blew fire over a tree. Then, it turned to look at Leo. A cold feeling wrapped around Leo as he understood the dragon's intentions.

He came to his senses and ran, not caring to look where he went and not daring to look behind. He knew he would be burnt to a crisp if he stopped. The dragon followed, as if it was determined not to lose its dinner today. It breathed fire again and Leo dodged, barely missing it.

Leo saw a thicket of trees and ran towards it. He hid as best as he could, but it was useless. The dragon, soon, caught sight of him hiding behind a tree. The dragon blew fire towards the thicket and seconds later the cluster of trees was on fire.

Leo was trapped. There was no way he could escape now. He closed his eyes waiting for death.


	5. Death which never came

Story continued... Happy reading!

Death which never came. But he could not feel any pain or burning sensation except for a warm feeling which spread like hot cocoa in cold days. He opened his eyes slowly to find everything on fire: except himself.

 _This can't be true. I must be dreaming,_ he thought. Realization suddenly dawned on him. Years ago, his mother had told him about his power over fire. If that had been true, somehow he must be immune to fire.

Slowly he touched a burning branch on his side. No pain. He was amazed and grinned with pleasure. _This must explain all the happenings…. Well most of them_ , Leo thought as he grinned to himself. _But I wonder how this power came to me_. Now, there was no way the dragon could hurt him …. Except for crushing him.

He made his way out of the thicket and found the dragon flying around. It noticed him as soon as he stepped out. He blew fire again, but Leo wasn't afraid this time. He simply closed his eyes and felt the warm feeling wash over him again.

When the dragon stopped the flow of flames, it was surprised to see its prey not in the form of a crisp but as a human, that too without a scratch. Leo was standing right in front grinning in glee at this amazing power he possessed.


	6. Naming Ceremony

**Continued part ... Enjoy!**

The dragon suddenly bent down before Leo, its wings flapping gently in the air. Leo, at first thought that this was meant to be an attack in hiding, but then when the dragon didn't get up, he realized that it was actually bowing before him.

He didn't understand the gesture of the dragon and stood still fixed to the ground. The dragon whimpered as if it was getting impatient. Suddenly it dawned on Leo that the dragon wanted him to ride on it.

Leo slowly made his way to the dragon's side and began climbing until it reached its neck. The dragon stood up slowly and took flight soaring into the sky like a bird. Leo never felt so thrilled in his life as he did now.

It was an amazing feeling soaring through the sky at such a high speed. After a few minutes of touring the city, he told his dragon to fly down. It landed on the soft grass of the forest.

Leo got off carefully and gazed at the dragon with a thoughtful expression on his face. Suddenly, it struck him. He said, excitedly," I am going to name you Draco, my very own dragon!"

He had a warm feeling in his heart; a feeling that told him he wasn't alone anymore; he had a dragon for a friend!


	7. The Truth Revealed

Continued part...

His happiness wasn't long-lasted though. Near dawn, a huge bird-like figure flew over the pair. On noticing them, it landed on a big rock, near the clearing where the two were enjoying the little chatter they were having. Leo noticed the draught and looking at the shadow which had newly formed in front of him turned around to investigate.  
It was a strange beast, the size of a giant and huge wings. With a gasp, Leo realized that it was one of the dinosaurs that was supposed to be extinct: a pteranodon. He had seen it once while on a field trip to the museum. But why was this bird here?  
Leo couldn't understand. Then as if to answer all his questions, the pteranodon spoke in a human voice and said gently," Leo! I see you have met the dragon that you were destined to meet in your life. But unfortunately this meeting happened before it was meant to. This can prove dangerous to you and also the dragon -"  
"No!" roared Leo."You're trying to steal my one and only friend from me and I won't let you!" Leo climbed up Draco and held on to his neck for dear life. The pteranodon sighed and continued gently," Leo, you were destined to meet the dragon only a few years later. Just as majestic as it is now. The friend you will have for life awaits you only a few years later. Then you both will be together as long as you live." Leo sighed and said," I don't know abut this. How do you know all this stuff? Are you a fortune-teller or something? If you are, then I'm not going to believe all that nonsense. Fortune-tellers are useless.  
The pteranodon answered calmly," No, Leo. I am not what you call a 'fortune-teller'. I am one of the servants of God Zeus. He sent me to watch over you and guide you, for this incident will wreck your life; turn it upside down. That is, if you don't listen to me.  
Leo was silent for a few seconds, deep in thought.  
Presently, he said, " I have just two more questions for you."  
"And what are they?"  
"Who am I and why do these weird things keep happening to me? The second being, why does Zeus(if he exists) care about me? What is going on?"  
"All your questions will be answered in time. Zeus has asked me not to reveal anything to you now. Time will come and you will be rewarded for your patience. I want you to do something for me"  
"What is that?"  
"You see that bush behind you?"  
"Yes"  
"Pluck one of it's leaves and eat it"  
"What?"  
"Do as I say."  
"Okay.. but what is this for?"  
"Some secrets must remain secrets. By eating the leaf you will forget about what happened. You will fall into a deep sleep and what happened tonight will just remain a vague dream, disappearing with time. You were able to see through the mist and discover the dragon. It all happened to be a mistake."  
"The mist? Is it some kind of fog-thingie?"  
"In time everything will be the leaf now."  
"Okay. Bye Draco"he said turning to the dragon."I'll miss you. But at least we're meeting again! I'll see soon." A tear ran down Leo's cheek."I'll miss you a lot." The dragon whimpered.  
"I'm ready." said Leo.  
He ate the leaf. Nothing happened for a few seconds. Then, he stumbled, lost his balance and fell to the ground, drifting into a deep sleep.  
What happened after that nobody but the pteranodon, the dragon and the Gods know...

-

Three years later, Leo met an automaton of Draco and he renamed him Festus. The words of the pteranodon came true...!


End file.
